dose any one use a cold weather screen?

[Big Red Monster]

i was thinking about getting a cold weather grille cover from fia for my truck. dose anyone use these in the winter or is it not worth it?

 

[Canadian Expy]

I used one on 79 F150 when I lived north of the city, made starting easier I think the battery liked it.(less cold air blowing over it.)

 

[Lane24]

I had one on my V6 Explorer just because it came with it when I bought the little guy.. it was nice cuz it doubled as a bug screen in the summer. You just snapped the heavier one on in the winter. It seemed to get the heater temp up a bit sooner than running without it. I don't use one with the Expy, but I plug in the block heater when ever it gets to -20 degrees or colder ( which is about -4 US degrees) and try not to park it facing the north wind. These big V8's tend to make a lot of their own heat, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt as long as you get one where you don't have to drill holes in your grill.

 

[Big Red Monster]

yea the one from fia uses stick on fastners but im considering to make my own that can be zip tied to the grill i just hate that once its warmed up it looses the heat so fast when i park for an hour or so and i dont have a remote start (yet) so I would like it to warm up quicker lol

 

[GAINMOB]

what is your location?

 

[99 Expy]

It wont hurt by any means, but I have never used them, and winters here get to -40+ on days, and mine starts fine. I have a block heater but have never used it, it just takes a lot longer to warm up.

 

[Big Red Monster]

I live in chicago, nothing to extreme but it dose get pretty damn cold sometimes, i just want to be able to make my truck warm up quicker so it dont have to idle as long

 

[99 Expy]

We hit -29 Monday, and it started ok, and it was ready to go about 20 minutes later. I dont think a cover will really make a huge difference for your starting, a block heater would be the way to go if you have one.

 

[Big Red Monster]

unfortunately no block heater. i dont have trouble starting it it fires right up i just want to keep more heat in so the heat gets hot faster

 

[ELVATO]

Get E-fans and let it set for a few mins before moving? Is it just a cover/cloth that restrict airflow?

 

[Big Red Monster]

what good will electric fans do? yea the cover will pretty much block all cold air going into the engine

 

[alaskanexpy]

we hit -30 at times, i also dont use my block heater either. now when it gets that cold sometimes i will put some cardboard infront of the radiator to help it heat up alittle more. but i have not done that in years. i just hit the remote start and let her idle for awhile. 7mpg be damned i wont get in a cold truck haha

 

[panda24619]

what good will electric fans do? yea the cover will pretty much block all cold air going into the engine

you turn them off. that way they dont let air threw. and usually in the cold, more so where it snows, the fans would never turn on as long as yours still moving. my buddy tested that out on his truck. he has wired to a switch. so he can keep it on if the engine is hot but not have the truck still running. anyways in the mountains, it had gotten down to 25 the night before and was around 50 in the day. his flipped the switch and the fans didnt turn on, cause it still needs the sensor to do it. some weird way he had it wired up. cool though.

 

[Big Red Monster]

im gonna be honest I dont like electric fans and i will never trust those things to cool my engine, my caddy had them and the relay went bad and i damn near burned the engine up in the summer time. i think for what electric fans cost id rather just install a remote starter lol

 

[GAINMOB]

no need for block heater in chi-town...hometown is 1 1/2 hrs away from chi...i know and seen many vehicles without them and do just fine...my uncle has a 3rd gen there...no fronts...no probs...if you were in grand forks north dakota or the upper part of minnesota...i'd say get them...change your anti-freeze and your good

 

[Big Red Monster]

right now Im running the peak global antifreeze so I shouldnt have much problems. they make a soulution to add to the coolant called "heater hotter" supposed to make it warm up alot faster but i dont like useing any type of additive crap like that

 

[2000eb]

the block heater is nice because it keeps your oil temp up just turn it on 20-30 min before you leave to let it warm up your oil that way when you start the gas guzzler it is already warmed up. saves alot of gas and they are pretty cheap. or you can get the remote start and burn a couple gallons sitting there waiting for it to warm up

 

[alaskanexpy]

hehe why do you think my MPGs drop about 2-3mpg in the winter time(getting 7.5 with the excursion and about 8.5 with the expedition). remote start that ******! nice and toasty

 

[Lane24]

hehe why do you think my MPGs drop about 2-3mpg in the winter time(getting 7.5 with the excursion and about 8.5 with the expedition). remote start that ******! nice and toasty

Werd!!!!!! Plus it's hard to scrape the front window when it's seven feet in the air!!!! Remote start on defrost for a few minutes, and drive!!!!

 

[Big Red Monster]

my dad has a block heater on his truck and honestly we didnt notice much of a difference and we had that thing plugged in over night (it was 20 below0 those few days) i think imma get a remote starter installed